Molly Meacher and John Saunders have been appointed to the key posts of chairman and chief executive of the new Security Industry Authority
Home Office minister John Denham has announced that Molly Meacher – deputy chair of the Police Complaints Authority – and John Saunders OBE (previously chairman of the National Forum) have been appointed chairman and chief executive officer respectively for the Security Industry Authority (SIA). The appointments take effect from Monday 1 April for a three-year period.

Molly Meacher has extensive experience of working in the public sector, having acted as non-executive director of the Tower Hamlets Healthcare Trust and as advisor to the head of the Russian Ministry of Employment.

With a background in commercial banking, John Saunders was awarded the OBE in 1998 for services to the National Business Link Network. As chair of the National Forum, he has worked with the DTI and a raft of national partners in helping to deliver Government-backed support services to business.

The SIA, of course, will regulate and licence the activities of an estimated 300,000 privately employed security personnel, from door supervisors through to security consultants and officers. The Authority is slated to be up-and-running by 2003 and, over the coming months, both Meacher and Saunders will be setting up the necessary infrastructures. Meacher will continue her role with the Police Complaints Authority until May 2003.

Speaking about the appointments, John Denham told Security Management Today: "The establishment of the Security Industry Authority is an important part of the crime reduction agenda, as the SIA will have wide-ranging responsibilities for raising and maintaining standards within private sector security provision. I believe that under the skilled leadership of Molly and John, the Authority will be immediately effective when it starts work for real next year."

In line with the terms and conditions laid down by the Private Security Industry Act 2001, which received Royal Assent last May, the SIA's responsibilities as a non-departmental public body are set to include the following:

  • licensing individuals working under contract in designated sectors of the industry (including manned guards, door supervisors, private investigators and keyholders);
  • licensing door supervisors and wheel clampers who work in-house as well as under contract;
  • licensing the supervisors, managers and directors of security companies in designated sectors;
  • running a voluntary Inspected Companies' Scheme for all companies operating in the sector, and awarding a 'quality mark' (ie an accreditation for those firms meeting specific operational and organisational standards);
  • setting and raising professional standards in the industry (for example by ensuring that wheel clampers follow a detailed Code of Practice).

Security Management Today readers who would like more information on the Security Industry Authority can take a look at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/psib/index.htm